Fresh Perspectives

One of the main characteristics of any college experience at a large University like Carolina is the diversity.  And much of the diversity I've experienced so far involves students from up North.  Now, don't take this personally but I just really don't understand how some of these kids could have gone 18 years without trying some good ole Southern cookin'.

Two of my favorite foods are grits and fried okra.  I absolutely LOVE my Me-Ma's grits and could probably spend a whole page ranting and raving about them, but I'll spare you.  And fried okra, cooked just right.....ahhhh!  Yet, for some of my New Jersey friends, this is the first time they've EVER seen grits in their life.  To me, that is just unbelievable.  I mean, I've certainly had my fair share of New England clam chowder, so I think they should be eating grits up there.  (I know...I am a bit prejudice being a Southern belle and all.)  As for okra, my roomate Lee (who's from Massachusetts) and I were standing in line for food one night last semester and she looks at what their serving, turns up her nose and says, "What's okra???".  I almost had a fit!  I mean, granted it does look like a green ball of "mystery" covered in light breading, but I just assumed everyone knew what okra was.  Obviously, I made her try some, but I'm not so sure she's a fan of fried okra just yet!

This just goes to show that there's a lot more to learn from college than just Calculus and Chemistry; there's all sorts of things to gain and experience from the diversity of people here.  But just a little advice to any students from up North planning on coming to USC in the future.....you HAVE got to try some of South Carolina's good ole Southern cookin'.

Posted by Kendall at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know most of you out there can't wait to get away from home and finally experience college life.  With many of your senior years coming to an end, I'm sure you're all thinking, "AHHHH, my parents are driving me crazy."  Well....been there, thought that.  But now, I'm here to tell you differently. Guys, I don't care how 'macho' you are and girls, it doesn't matter if you're completely independent...you WILL miss home and you WILL look forward to going back for a short visit every once in a while.

This past weekend, I got the chance to do just that. I only went home for one night, but now I'm completely refreshed for a busy week with a huge English midterm and another Art test. And what did my one night and two days consist of...hanging out with my little sister and playing with our new puppy Pack (named after N.C. State's mascot, the Wolfpack).

Now, I'll have to admit, I'm still pretty new at the whole little sister thing (like I've said before, my dad got re-married last summer and I got a new little step-sister in the process). But, I just don't see how anyone could not want to have a younger sibling. (I'm sure that statement just got a few, "Oh, you just wait!" comments.) But really, you get an excuse to act like a little kid all over again!  I watched a Disney channel movie called "Big Fat Liar" that truthfully was pretty good, and I also tried out the new shoe craze sweeping through elementary schools across the nation.  The shoes are called Heelys because they have wheels on the heels.  I'm sure you've seen some kid scootin' around in the mall or on a sidewalk somewhere.  Well, yeah, huge props to those kids because I almost broke my neck trying wearing those things!

In addition to playing with Jess, I also got to meet the newest edition to the family....the little Pack-man!  As you can see from the picture below, he's just the cutest chocolate lab puppy in the world. 

So....that was basically my weekend.  And just as a reminder to all of you high school seniors out there:  spend a little extra time with the family before you head off to college because I promise, at one point or another, you'll miss them!

Posted by Kendall at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I woke up this morning (obviously!), get dressed as usual, walk out of Capstone....only to discover it's raining.  I REALLY need to start looking out of the window or checking the weather or something.  So anyway, there I was, stranded with no umbrella or hood.  But hey, a little water never hurt anyone right? WRONG. I stepped in a huge puddle and somehow managed to twist my ankle.  So, I limped into class with one of the legs of my jeans soaked up to mid-shin.  I must have been a sight to see!

Don't worry though, my day completely 'brightened up'.  After class, I headed to Gibbs Court (the restaurant in the bottom of Capstone), which was swarming with people.  That's when I remembered....it's CHICKEN FINGER WEDNESDAY!  You should have seen the smile on my face! Haha.  And somehow, my ankle miraculously felt all better.  You see, there are noticably more people in Gibbs during lunch on Wednesdays for the sole purpose of indulging in some of the yummy chicken tenders. Don't listen when people tell you that ALL dorm/school food is gross.  They obviously haven't experienced these delectable little treats.  I went straight to the hot line to relieve my hungry stomach and decided on veggies and macaroni and cheese to go with my tenders (I passed on the curly fries).

Hopefully my little story will be of great help to anyone having a bad Wednesday. Just head on down to Gibb's Court and treat yourself to some of those fabulous chicken tenders and all your troubles will be gone! At least until you finish the last bite....

Posted by Kendall at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 2008 presidential race is already heating up, and two of front-runners for the Democratic nomination have already visited Columbia.  Friday, Barak Obama spoke at the Columbia Convention Center (those tickets went FAST), and the imfamous Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Allen University today, a historically black college in Columbia.

All of the media coverage and hype gets everyone really excited around here.  Just last night, a heated political debate took place down the hall between a few of my fellow 'Capstoners'.  I tried to stay out of it.  Either way, it's so neat to know that Columbia is a top-spot for presidential hopefuls.  Just think, many of our USC students could possibly have already shaken the hand of the future president of the United States of America.

On a smaller level, politics shapes many aspects here at Carolina.  The 2007 Student Body elections are taking place right now (today and tomorrow are the voting days).  Candidates put tons of time and money into campaigning.  For the past few weeks, campus has been filled with banners and flyers promoting certain candidates.  Voting takes place online, so its extremely convenient for everyone.  I think it's great that USC puts such an emphasis on everyone participating in the electoral process.  Who knows, maybe our next student body pres. will be back visiting in a few years running for a national office. 

On a side note, I want to give a shout-out to my cousin Laura!  She's a senior in high school this year and came to visit for the weekend.  Now, she's already decided to attend N.C. State next year, so I didn't have to worry about convincing her that USC was better (even though it wouldn't be too hard!) Only kidding!  I've been a Wolfpack fan my whole life, so I'm not a bit disapointed with her decision.  But we had a great weekend.  I showed her around campus, we went shopping in 5-points, and she got a little taste of what dorm-life is like!  I'm so glad she came down.  We got really close and had tons of fun!

Posted by Kendall at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This has probably been one of the most stressful weeks of my life, but finally....I'm STRESS-FREE!  Listen to my day: 8 o'clock class, 9:30 class (EXAM), work at the law firm from 11:30-2:30, then class again at 3:30 (EXAM).  So, you see I couldn't really relax until my Biology exam was over. 

Both of my exams, (History and Biology) were pretty tough, but I've been studying all week, so I think I did okay! I hope all of you love birds out there had a great Valentine's Day!  I spent mine on a date with Thomas Cooper...that's right, Mr. Cooper and I had a grand ole' time reviewing mitosis and the early industrialization period.  (For those of you who are thinking, "Wow..great date!", the main library at USC is called the Thomas Cooper Library.)  Yeah, it's pitiful, but you gotta do what you gotta do!  I did get a nice card from my grandma and Valentine's Day socks (thanks, mom!), so I didn't come out completely empty handed!

I'm just not a big fan of Valentine's Day, I guess.  All of you will agree with me that it's completely comercialized.  I'm sure Hallmark makes millions every February 14th.  And I'm showing my anti-feminism roots here, but it must be aweful for guys.  They're the ones who are expected to do everything.  Girls just sit back and wait for chocolates, roses, and other useless gifts.  But, I suppose I'll have to agree with the noteworthy advice given by the Bealtes...."All You Need is Love".

Posted by Kendall at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm sure many of you are quite intrigued by my choice of title for this post, but before you jump to conclusions, listen to the story!  Last night, after dinner, some of the kids on my hall invited me to go with them to the Student Film Competition.  I had nothing better to do (besides procrastinate my studying for 2 exams on Thursday) so I decided, why not?  I've never been to any kind of amatuer film festival before so I thought I'd see what it was all about.

There were a few requirements for each of the short films.  Each one had to include a claustrophobic ninja (hence the title), the line: "What'd you do with my frying pan?", the Gamecock painting on the road in front of the Russell House, and a broken heel to a shoe.  You'd be pretty surprised by some of the interesting/crazy/rediculous/hilarious films I saw.  Let me just say those film-makers are certainly CREATIVE and have vivid imaginations.

But overall, it was a great experience.  There's all sorts of cool things to do on campus like that; whether you're into sports, social events, or even claustrophobic ninja's....you'll find something fun to do here at USC!

Posted by Kendall at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Baseball...America's favorite pastime and my favorite sport.  Seriously, I just LOVE baseball.  I grew up watching my big brother play and have seen hundreds of his games all over the Southeast.  I'll never forget the Dixie Boys World Series in none other than Cleveland, Mississippi (word of advice: don't plan any family vacations here).  The only thing I remember were the mosquitos the size of my fist.  I've sat through games of below freezing temperatures as well as a few in scorching heat of over 100 degrees.  But I can honestly say that I loved every minute of it. 

I even had my few years of baseball.  And yes, I do mean baseball.  (You know how in little league there's always the 1 or 2 girls on the team!  Well, yeah, that was me!)  Then I switched to softball.  But baseball will always be close to my heart.

I am so excited for USC baseball season (which has officially begun, I might add).  We just won our first two games at a tournament in Wilmington, NC.  Can't wait for the first home game...I will definitely be there!

Posted by Kendall at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The best thing I can draw are a few stick figures standing in an ugly flower garden.  I can't distinguish a Van Gogh from a Monet.  To me, Rembrandt is a brand of toothpaste. And, wait, red and blue make purple, right?

As you can see, I'm certainly not an Art buff.  Give me music or movies any day, but art....it just ain't my thing!  And with my first big Art Education 101 test less than 48 hours away, I'm kinda freaking out.  The test is made up of multiple choice questions on the stuff we've covered in class:  style, blah blah blah, dynamic, more blahs, types of painting, yadda-yadda, and so on. You get the picture? (Wow...no pun intended!)  I don't know what it is, but this art stuff is just not clicking with me.  The only thing that's going to save me are the identification questions and the extra credit.  For the I.D. questions, all we have to do is look at a picture and identify the title and artist. (Pure memory...hopefully, I can handle that.)

So, for the next 2 days, I'm going to be neck deep in an art book!  Believe me, this is not my idea of a good time, but hopefully all of this studying will pay off so that maybe one day I will AT LEAST be able to draw a few stick figures standing in a pretty flower garden.

Posted by Kendall at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On this wicked, cold, rainy, miserable first day of February...I have come to a conclusion.  I desperately need to invest in an umbrella.  Because of the freezing rain and ice predicted for this morning, the University didn't open until 11 a.m., which meant both of my morning classes were cancelled.  So, when I got off of the elevator at 11:15 this morning, all dressed and ready to go to work, I look outside and realize it's raining pretty hard.

I arrived at work completely soaked, looking more like a wet dog than a business woman.  I was pitiful, and definitely got a few 'What in the world happened to you?' looks.  So, that's when I decided it's about time to buy an umbrella.  I'm finally beginning to realize that I'm not invincible to rain! 

This winter, our weather has been so confusing.  I really wish it would make up its mind.  Today, it's almost snowing and tomorrow the high is going to be nearly 60 degrees.  All I know is, if I was the weather, I'd have sunshine and highs of 80 degrees everyday with an occasional chance of afternoon showers (for naptime, of course).  But considering I'm not the weather, i'll just have to put up with this freezing rain!

Posted by Kendall at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)